Yesterday, President Donald Trump signed a measure imposing, starting August 1st, a universal 50% tariff on imports of semi-finished copper products (copper tubes, wire, rods, sheets, and pipes) and copper-intensive copper-based products (pipes, cables, connectors, and electrical components). The decision stems from the desire to reduce America's dependence on foreign copper, which Trump believes undermines the security of critical sectors such as defense, clean energy, and infrastructure. The main countries from which the US imports the mineral are Chile, Canada, and Mexico.

Specifically, a White House statement explained that the Section 232 tariffs -concerning imports that would pose a risk to national security- are not cumulative and "apply to the copper content of a product", while "copper content not present in a product remains subject to reciprocal tariffs or other applicable duties". Furthermore, if a good is already subject to tariffs imposed under Section 232 on automobiles, the tariffs on copper are not considered. Input materials for copper, such as ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes, and anodes, as well as scrap, are also not subject to the tax. Considering these exclusions, which affect important materials, however, the new policy appears to be far from the president's initial threats, and for this reason, the price of US copper has fallen; shares of major mining companies have also fallen.

Yesterday, Trump also imposed 50% tariffs, among the most severe ever imposed during the trade war, on most products imported from Brazil in retaliation for what he calls a "witch hunt" against Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, accused of plotting a coup. The US President, however, excluded airplanes and aircraft in general, energy, and orange juice from the measure. South Korea and India were also hit, with tariffs of 15% and 25%, respectively. India will also receive a series of unspecified "penalties" for purchasing weapons and oil from Russia. "Although India is our friend, we have done relatively little business with them over the years because their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world, and they have the most rigid and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country" Trump declared on his Truth platform.